Frozen Landscapes
by ThoughtfulZombie
Summary: Having lost contact of her brother Norlan for years after he fled to Skyrim, Sage learns of the civil war and return of the dragons plaguing the land he lives in. Nothing will stop the Imperial finding her brother and facing her destiny
1. Prologue

Hey all : It's been about time I post something on here rather than just lurk. I've had this idea floating around my head since I first started playing Skyrim so I thought 'why not?' and this is a result of that.

This fanfic is going to revolve around my female imperial Sage. The prologue is mostly to explain the background history of my characters and introduce them, so sorry if it drawls on for longer than you would like.

**EDIT**: I just posted the second chapter 10 minutes ago and I just realized I had some information that clashed so I just edited it a bit

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

"Hey Sage! Hurry up!"

"Stop running ahead of me then!"

A sister and brother were wandering in the countryside of Cyrodiil, not a worry in sight. The younger girl – Sage - struggled to keep up with her brothers pace. All Sage wanted was to walk at a slow pace, taking in all the sights as they came while the boy wanted to rush everywhere and see everything before it was too late.

Sage and her brother Norlan spent most of their time together, as they were often dragged around to new, strange places by either of their parents and only had each other as a constant source of companionship. Their mother was a well known alchemist with multiple books published, and travelled to and far promoting alchemy and her books. Their father a general in the Imperial army, and often was in other regions of Tamriel or attending important meetings or events. Because of this, one quarter of their time was spent with their father and if they were lucky enough they could join in some of the things he did. Another quarter of their childhood was with their mother when she was at home experimenting with new potions or writing up a new book. Sometimes if the siblings were lucky, both parents would be home with them. When both their parents were away they would be sent to live in the countryside of Cyrodiil with their elderly uncle & aunt, helping out the woodcutting business situated there. Sage and Norlan spent so much time travelling that the only home they really knew of was with each other.

As they got older, and reached their teen years with Sage at 14 and Norvar at 16, the precious time spent with their family got ever smaller with each year. Their father was getting increasingly caught up in military and political issues, and eventually was ordered to help out in other regions, and in the end had little time to be with his children. Time with their mother was increasingly sparse as her sister fell ill, and she was determined to find a cure for her. The two had never met their mother's sister before, and neither did their mother gave much detail about the situation. Sage and Norlan found themselves practically living their lives with their relatives, whose age was starting to show.

They were getting… bored of their surroundings. Life lacked something for the two wild youths, and they weren't going to settle for nothing. The siblings began to steal from anyone and everyone – and they were good at it too. The Thieves Guild in Cyrodiil quickly nabbed them and put the two under their wing. They were gaining a reputation to say at the least. The dodgy life they lead only brought them closer with every heist or burglary they performed together. Sage and Norlan were more than siblings, or partners in crime – they were best friends.

And it all came crashing down on them the day they were caught.

Furious and enraged, their father sent letters of anger and disappointment, shortly ordering them to live in the Imperial city where they could be closely watched, 24/7. Their mother ceased contact with them, which they assumed was because of the utter shame she felt for having such rebellious children. Angry and hurt, they disconnected from everyone – even each other. Norlan wanted a way out of what he considered a prison and to go exploring **far far **away from everything he grew up with. Sage had accepted the truth that what she had done in her youth was bad, and made a vow to never go back to stealing and running with the bad crowds.

Just when everything seemed to have calmed down, they received news that their mother was dead.

A letter came to them one day, informing of what their mother had really been doing all those years. She was a witch and a follower of a Hagraven that had been terrorizing civilians for years. Shortly after being found out and caught, she was publicly executed. After the shock, their father refused to recognize his own family, for it brought him much grief to know that the person he loved had done terrible things and so did his offspring.

With the final bombshells, Norlan snapped. That night he escaped, leaving a single note for Sage.

_I can't handle this anymore. Skyrim and freedom calls for me. Maybe one day we'll meet again, who knows._

Sage immediately burned the note, and spoke nothing of it to anyone. She accepted his choice, but even with that, the young imperial couldn't help but feel _hurt, left behind_.

Now in her 25th year, Sage grew to be a respectable imperial woman whose past was completely behind them. She abided by the laws, and lived a peaceful and productive life like any other civilian. Her father never tried reconciling with Sage, but she didn't mind it. Even with all of this, she frequently wondered where Norlan was, and how life was for him. A pang of longing and sense of adventure would ache inside of her. As much as she tried ignoring it, nothing could calm the raging emotions and longings stirring within her.

When word of an uprising and the death of the high-king in Skyrim reached the Imperial City, the city was sent into an uproar of surprise. It proved to be popular gossip, but Sage was too caught up in her thoughts to discuss the recent news with fellow imperials. All that she was able to think of was her brother Is he still alive? Had he been caught in the crossfire of the growing civil war? What if he **was** involved in the rebellion? What if he was going to die because of it all? What if he already died?

Immediately she sold everything that belonged to her, got her hands upon some armor and weapons and left the safety of the Imperial City.

Nothing was going to stop her from crossing into Skyrim and finding her brother

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><p>And that's that! I've already started chapter one :) Reviews and constructive criticisms are very welcomed. Thanks for reading!<p> 


	2. New Land, New Fears

Gee, thanks for the favourites/alerts! And special thanks for Valerianus for writing my only review : It motivates me more to write ;u; It's just a shame highschool starts again for me tomorrow and I'm probably going to have less time to write but I will make time somehow. Just watch me!

Valerianus: Yeah, they had a pretty average childhood, but Sage doesn't dwell on it too much. I don't want her to be portrayed as the angsty sort who can't get over their past.

**EDIT**: Something that I wrote in the prologue clashed with what I wrote in this chapter so before I just fixed it :

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><p>Sage soldiered through the cold landscape, donned in a fur coat that concealed most of her. The young imperial woman shivered slightly, still not adjusted to the freezing climate, even if this wasn't her first time in Skyrim.<p>

She stopped for a moment, pulling out a map that was hidden beneath her coat. She opened it up, held it in front of her and inspected it. If she was correct, she would soon be able to see Helgen from afar and that she was well into the Pale Pass. Sage meticulously folded it and stored it back where it first was, trudging onwards once more. She clambered her way up a rocky hill, and what she saw confirmed her guesses from before. In the distance was a small town, surrounded by awe-inspiring landscapes. Her jaw went agape. Every other time she had travelled to Skyrim she was in a cartridge and had no opportunity to stop and look out from afar.

After from starting to feel the consequences of trekking so far after years of little to no adventuring at all, Sage decided it was a good time to take a break. She made herself as comfortable as she could on a rock, pulling out her water bag and aimlessly gazing out onto Skyrim for a while. Never had she been so out of her comfort zone. Every other time she had strayed far from civilization, she always had a companion – Norlan – with her. _Those days were long ago_ she thought, and now she must be independent and able to stand on her own two feet. She worried about the strength of her body, after having spent so many years not doing any physically demanding work. The knowledge she had learnt with a bow and swords did not fade into the back of her mind, and the imperial was somewhat confident that she would be able to put it to good use, even if she didn't have the strongest pull on a bow or swing in her arm. If worse came to worse, Sage could do what she would always do back when she was a thief –_ run_.

_No_, she shook her head. Sage had promised to herself to live and fight honorably, and that meant no thievery, cowardice or pettiness. With wishful thinking, she thought, _I'll find another way to make a living, hopefully. _She bet that her brother probably couldn't say the same. Her best lead to Norlan was wherever the thieves were. Before she would even dare to begin looking, the imperial woman knew that her priority was to find a stable income and a bed with a roof over her head. Knowing that the closest city, Whiterun was nearby, she decided to make that her base. It's location in the very heart of Skyrim made it convenient that everything was at an equal distance from her.

A strange rumble echoed in the sky, putting Sage on high alert. The imperial sprung up, one of her hands hovering centimeters from her sheathed sword. She scanned the sky and ground, nothing out of the ordinary in sight. When her eyes fell on Helgen once more, a group of people attracted her attention. She climbed higher up the rocky path to have a better view, immediately able to see the crowd in better detail. Instantly she recognized the imperial outfits, wondering if anyone she knew was in the little town. She spotted a small group of men and women in the middle of the crowd, all wearing the same armor and hands bounds in ropes.

And in that moment, it dawned on her what she was over viewing. In the seemingly quiet town of Helgen, an execution beheading multiple Stormcloaks was in place. Her icy, almost washed out blue eyes widened. Any suspicions of the civil war in her head were quelled – it really was alive in Skyrim.

The horror of what she saw only got worse from there.

A roar similar to the one before bellowed through the sky once more and an alien creature of giant proportions appeared high in the sky. It circled Helgen, eventually landing on the tower looming over the execution. With another mighty roar the sky turned dark and the town was plunged into chaos

Dragons.

Sage fell frozen in place as she observed the dragon breathing fire on the town. The people scattered in every direction, the screaming echoing up the valley to her. Pillars of fire and smoke towered in the air that could be seen for miles. The black dragon hung over the blazing village, anyone who would dare stare it in the eye was begging for their lives to be taken away. Never had Sage seen something so destructive and ominous in her years.

She knew she had to do something, but what? The imperial didn't dare to stumble too close to the inferno, but she couldn't just watch from afar like a coward. In her mind, there was only one thing she could do

And with great gusto, Sage ran to Whiterun like she had never ran before.

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><p>R&amp;R! Thanks for reading! I have a really good feeling about this fic :<p> 


	3. Stubborn Imperial

**Thank goodness I have a long weekend the day after high school resumed! I want to keep writing so it's perfect! (But I gotta say, Friday is a really strange way to start school. :u.)**

**I've been planning this story ahead and I got most of the bigger details sorted but I'm stuck with one significant part of it – and this is where you come in! I'm trying to decide whether Sage is going to side with the Empire or the Stormcloaks, and I need your help deciding what side. Even leaving a review with a one word answer is perfectly fine I'm leaning more towards the Imperial Legion**

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><p>How Sage had not collapsed from exhaustion stunned her.<p>

As a result of the horrendous events she over-watched, the young imperial woman had no other thought in her mind but _run_. She did not run in fear from the looming danger swallowing up a town in fire and fear, but to warn. "_The people of Riverwood must have been able to see, or at least hear the dragon_," she thought. "B_ut Whiterun needed to be informed immediately_." Sage knew that people will call her a coward, a liar just trying to escape a near death, and she intended to prove them wrong or ignore their snide remarks. They hadn't seen what she saw, and eventually with time she knew that others would be one to spectacle the monstrosity that was a dragon.

Thinking deep about the chaos only brought more blunder, Sage tripping up on rocks and other miscellaneous items in her mad dash. The imperial droned out any screams of pain her body sung with the sound of shallow breath and rapid beating of the heart. Sprinting on such an uneven terrain only caused the ache in her muscles to moan loader, cuts and forming bruises proving such. Her fur coat was heavy and hot, slowing her down considerably but she was too hesitant to discard it as quickly as that. Regardless of the coat or not, she soldiered on.

She eventually found steady footing on what appeared to be a main road. Sage was too focused on the pace at which she ran to pull out her map for good measure and make sure she was headed in the direction. The size and quality of the path must stand for something, she thought – even if she wasn't aware of what trains of thought drawled on in absent mind.

To her luck, a single silhouette further down the road etched into vision. She picked up her speed, almost crashing into the stranger when they did move closer. Having ceased running, only then she noticed the excruciating pain tingling through the fibres of her body. Regardless Sage simply put the pain to the side, knowing that in good time her stamina will slowly be what it used to be, and that the ache & fatigue in her muscles will be no more. She bent down, hands on knees and her breath irregular and heavy. Sage glanced upwards at the figure, a rather confused Nord man staring back down. He had no weapons on him, and wore simple clothing.

"Something wrong stranger?" With a thick Nordic accent, he spoke.

Sage was only able to say a handful of disconnected words between her panting, "Be careful…..dragon…Helgen"

With raised eyebrows, the man inquired, "Excuse me?"

Sage stood there for a minute, regaining her breath and taking hearty swigs from her water bag before she dare speak up once more. Now more composed, the Imperial warned, "Be careful and don't stray near Helgen! I know this is entirely absurd but you have to believe me when I say that Helgen was attacked by a dragon"

"Dragon?" he scoffed, his tone of voice tinged in condescension, "Have you hit the Skooma, imperial?"

"No no! You must believe me! Walk further down the path and you'll see the smoke from Helgen, and maybe then you'll realize what I'm saying is true!" Sage had no time and patience to convince this one Nord that there truly was danger further up the road, and she began to run once more without fare-welling the stranger. As much as the thought of another dying to this dragon worried Sage, she would rather see one man die than hundreds. Having spotted the man only reassured her hopes that Riverwood was near and with that confirmation, she pushed onwards.

Sage shortly arrived in Riverwood to the sound of a conversation

"I saw it! A dragon! It came flying from the west! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

"I'm sure you did Hilde." A man and an elderly woman were speaking out on the porch of a house, the man obviously not soaking in anything she said. Sage's heavy panting gave her arrival away, the two halting their conversation to eye the stranger.

"Greetings traveler. We don't normally see people like you pass through town." The Nordic man greeted Sage in a welcoming manner that was a nice change of pace to the Imperial compared to the previous Nord she encountered. A smile tipped the corners of his mouth, "looks like you've been on your feet for a fair while."

With a small, sheepish grin, she laughed, "you could say that's the case but," Sage paused, regaining her composure, "the dragon this lady over here was talking about was what I was running from"

Hilde stood up from her seat on the porch, pointing directly at Sage as she spoke, "see? Even this stranger-"

"Sage, miss"

"This stranger – Sage- saw it!"

With a crooked smile the man ushered Hilde back into the seat, "I'm sorry, you must forgive my mother Hilde. It's best if you don't indulge her by going along with her wild stories"

"No, the dragon is well alive. The Empire was holding an execution for the rebels when a dragon appeared out of nowhere and turned Helgen into something out of the planes of Oblivion!" Sage insisted, brows furrowed. Unlike the previous Nord she talked to, she did intend on convincing this one that the dragon **was **alive, and was very much a threat to the safety to him and Hilde.

The man was about to speak, but Sage got it quicker than he could, "look." She held an arm to the sky, pointing at distant columns of smoke towering high into the overcast sky. Sage mustered all the strength and charisma she could speak with, and spoke with authority, "tell me, what else could it be? If it were a forest fire, it would be far more spread out, only proving more that the smoke is from Helgen. That loud sound that you could hear before, that **was** the dragon. The strange black thing in the sky that could have been mistaken as a bird, it **was** the dragon. It could very well decide to fly here and do the same to this town. I swear on the Divines, it's out there and if you don't prepare yourself, you'll live a similar fate to Helgen."

Neither the two Nords could find the right words to combat what the Imperial said. The three of them stood near the borders of the humble town, furrowed brows and frowns shared all around.

The man cleared his throat, "well… if you really are right, someone must go inform Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun. Thanks for informing us. I'm Sven by the way"

"How far away is Whiterun? How long do you think it will take me to get there?"

"About half a day's walk from here, maybe less than that if you run but please er, Sage, take some time to rest before you continue. You've ran quite a far distance"

She shook her head, "thank you but no. It's only midday and I still have enough time to reach Whiterun before sundown"

"Not even a half an hour break? You could buy supplies," Sven persisted further, but Sage was adamant with her decision at that point.

Sage smiled weakly, "I'll come back when I find the time and I'll get a drink at the inn or help out around the town, alright?"

"Okay, if you really are sure..." the Nord man frowned, now accepting of the fact that the woman would never change her mind. A smile smoothed out on her lips, "I'll come back later Sven! Take care of yourself Hilde and watch out for the dragon!" And with a brief wave, Sage was on her way once more

"Are all Imperials like that Sven?"

"No mother, but I don't think she's the bad kind"

Never had Sage ran so much in a day. Even back in her youth when she led a life of crime, the Imperial had no reason to run such a distance. She longed for a good meal, rather than small snacks she ate along way and a decent bed to rest her well-treaded feet. It was nearing sunset, the hue in the sky slowly morphing behind thick clouds. Whiterun was minutes from her, and she had already encountered some of the farms and stable in front of it. She slowed down her pace, much to the relief of her body. The seemingly impenetrable walls was a comforting site to Sage, bringing back somewhat pleasant memories from within the safety of the Imperial City. "_No_," she shook the thought out of her head. "T_he Imperial City doesn't have anything useful for me anymore, there is a change Norlan could be here. Then again, there's a bigger chance he is elsewhere_." Sage groaned, this was not the time to ponder where Norlan could have possibly been.

She jogged up to the gates of the city, but to her surprise, they were firmly shut. One of the guards standing by entrance strolled up to Sage, halting her, "by the order of the Jarl, the gates are closed to all because of the recent dragon attack"

Irritation slowly bubbled up within her, "but I just spent the entire day on feet travelling from out of Helgen to here to warn you of the dragon! You could at least let me in!"

"Thank you Imperial but one of the survivors from the attack has already gone through the gates. Your effort is appreciated," he spoke briskly, almost devoid of any sort of emotion.

Nothing could describe the utter annoyance Sage felt – after having done something so exhausting and pain-staking, learning that it was all in vain was the last thing she wanted to hear. Even as calm and composed as she tried to be in that situation, incense trickled off her words, "will it hurt to let me in? If I were a criminal bent on stealing from Whiterun I don't think I would take the time to do a good deed for you and warn you of the dragon!"

The guard hesitated, 'well, ah. Hey Voorn!" He called over the other guard, and Sage began to fear the worst. She knew that he could be very well asking his fellow companion to assist him in pushing her away from Whiterun, but Sage wasn't going to let that happen. "What seems to be the issue here?" The second guard inquired

"This woman here says that she ran all the way from Helgen to warn the Jarl about the dragon attack"

"Didn't someone else go through saying the same thing already?"

"Yes but the imperial wants access to the city. She says she has no bad intentions but"

From behind his mask, Sage caught the second guard rolling his eyes, "look at her. She has cuts and bruises on her arms and her sword looks like it could do with a sharpening. Letting the imperial in won't do any harm"

Once more, the first guard spoke warily, "alright then. I guess it's your lucky day Imperial. I apologize about before"

Sage inwardly grinned, "A_cting irritated does really work in some situations_." She quickly regained the air of quiet confidence she had learnt to rely on, "thank you. I'll have forgotten this little ordeal by the time I find the inn and rent out a bed"

With a low rumble and a groan, the wooden gates slowly awoke and opened. Sage made her way into the city, leaving the guards once again by themselves.

"Stubborn imperials"

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><p><strong>Welllllllll... I wasn't intending on writing that much in one single evening ._. Hey, I'm not complaining. I'm really sorry if this chapter ended up being a bit boring, I tend to drawl on sometimes for a bit too long. Things are going to pick up and get more interesting I promise c:<strong>

**PLEASE leave a vote saying whether Sage should be a supporter of the Imperial Legion or Stormcloaks. If no one ends up voting(D:) I'll probably just end up flipping a coin or something**

**R & R!**


	4. Getting To Know The Locals

**Horray for long weekends! I was even able to squeeze in another chapter ;u; The votes I have recieved from Valeranius & Solyeuse have been more than convincing, so I'm definitely going to be pro-empire. No one can change my mind now. I'm sorry if this is yet another boring chapter but in the next one there will be action and fighting!**

**EDIT: After Solyeuse pointing out a few things needing a touch-up, I've edited this chapter a bit but now it should flow better c:**

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><p>"Just one tankard of mead, please"<p>

"Coming right up! I'm sure I had a clean tankard around here somewhere..."

After what anyone would call a long day, Sage was finally able to take a moments rest. She had been directed to the Bannered Mare, where she shortly got a room and took some time to head down to the bar for a drink. The Imperial slinked away once she had a tankard in hand. In the middle of the drunken ruckus, no one took notice of her in the corner, and that's how she wanted it to be. With clouded azure eyes, she simply observed the wild antics and drunken brawls from afar. Anyone who did catch her gaze quickly broke from it. Inwardly she mused_, "I must not be that strange_."

Out of habit, a source of comfort, Sage felt her hand reach to trace the clean scar that fell vertically from her left eye down to her cheek. As nasty as it looked, the scar came to be when she was younger and a tree branch with unusually sharp leaves scraped her. There were multiple scratches, but all of them faded away as she grew older but one. Sage often took advantage of it, using the mark as a prop to make up great stories of her perilous adventures to strangers, each person taking the hook and sinker with vigorous enthusiasm. Behind her amazing stories of so called dangers she faced on a regular basis, the truth was Sage lead a rather mundane and simple life after the breakdown of her family. She had done nothing of extraordinary proportions until she made the choice to go for looking for her brother. "_I haven't even killed someone before_." The thought sat in her mind, "_I don't know if I could either - but I'm sure I'll have to on this journey, no doubt about that_." The imperial scolded herself for being so foolish, for not thinking about the things she'll have to do if she wanted to make it out alive between the dragons and the civil war.

"Hey there stranger. Yer lookin a little lonely there by all yerself," a thick, slurring Nordic voice pulled her out of her stewing thoughts. She inwardly groaned, "_wonderful, a drunkard_." The smell of mead was heavy on his breath, almost consuming the air around Sage. She didn't like mead, even if she did try it tonight – it was far too strong for her and after a glass and half she reckoned she would end up being as drunk as the man staggering in front of her. This wasn't the first time she had a drunkard pester her, but she knew how to handle them. "_Drunken Nords must not be any different to drunken Imperials_," she thought. Sage tilted her head to the side slightly, a knowing smirk that she had practiced so many other times smoothing out her lips.

"I'm enjoying being in my own company, in fact," Sage replied, her mind quickly processing every possible way to get this bumbling drunkard out of her sight. He grinned, "well I think yer would enjoy the company of two more than one." The drunken Nord turned to sit down in the chair next to Sage but because of his intoxication, he found himself falling flat on the floor. Sage scanned the room, multiple eyes on the sleazy Nord, smirks donned on their faces

A twinkle of mischievousness flickered in her eyes, knowing how to get this incompetent fool off her case then and there. She leaned over, firmly placing a hand on his shoulder, "hey, see the men over there?"

"Yeah"

"I think they're laughing at you. They think you're a fool, a weakling." Word by word, she fed the idea into his inept head

"Really?"

"Of course" she spoke smooth and with confidence, the Nord not knowing any better. In a drunken rage he stumbled over, shortly commencing a barfight by swinging a punch that only just hit the victim. During all the brawling and squabbling, Sage swiftly and silently made her way up to her room, not really interesting in sticking around for any longer.

Sage finally found peace in the solitude of that one room. It was simply furnished, but that was all she needed. She fell limp onto the bed, letting exhaustion and fatigue catch up with her. The imperial sighed, her mind running far too fast for her to even think about sleep, even with the state of her body. She sat up and sat there in silence, the sound of the bar down below muted and soft.

Sage looked around the room, but only to accidentally catch her reflection in the little mirror by her bed. She gazed back at herself, realizing how simple she really looked. Her skin had a light, olive coloured tan, but not to the same equivalence as her family or other imperials. The washed out ginger colour was unusual she thought, neither was it a brilliant, fiery red but it wasn't pale enough to be considered a blonde. It fell past her collarbone, once single braid hanging on the side of her face. She pulled it back into a low ponytail, letting that lonely braid fall to where it originally was. The imperial tilted her head slightly to inspect herself further. Her cheeks were fractionally gaunter than other of her kind, but it didn't seem to give her a hard look. Neither did she have a particularly soft look to her face, rather it had a refined, almost elegant feel to the structure – that is if you looked past the eye-catching scar. Sage tore her eyes from the mirror and yawned, the speed at which her brain ran starting to slow down.

_Tomorrow, I'll see the jarl and see if there's any work, hopefully_, she noted down a plan in her mind, droning out any other ideas after that thought. Finally unaware of her head and everything else, she rolled over and closed her eyes.

"What is with this interference?"

Sage was certainly not expecting to start off her day with a scowling dunmer ready to attack the imperial if she took one wrong step.

Uncharacteristic of Sage, she stammered, "I-I was going to speak to the jarl yesterday to warn him of the dragon attack but one of the guards told me someone had already informed him of such! I was just wondering if I could still speak to him"

The dunmer glowered, hissing, "there is no need for you to speak to Jarl Balgruuf. Leave _immediately_."

"It's alright Irileth, let her speak to me - she has come so far anyways." A strong voice from further down in Dragonsreach boomed, Irileth sheathing her weapon immediately no matter how much she made sure Sage knew how much the dunmer didn't like her presence. Sage regained her composure, quickly making her way over to Jarl Balgruuf.

The man sat on a throne, his posture rather relaxed for such a position as his. Sage marveled at what seemed to be a dragon skull hanging high above the throne. It overlooked the entire hall, jaw wide open with all its serrated, razor sharp teeth intact.

"Greetings traveler. So you were caught in the middle of the dragon attack?"

"Thank you Jarl." She pressed a smile on her face, curtsying slightly in respect. Sage carried on, "well… I saw it from afar. I was passing through the border when I took a break somewhere in the Pale Pass and caught sight of the dragon"

"What would an imperial like you be doing travelling to Skyrim with the civil war plighting this land?"

Sage hesitated_, "how much should I say_?" She eventually settled on saying, "I'm looking for my brother. I… lost contact with him over the years and I wanted to make sure he was ok. So some of the guards said a Helgen survivor got here before me?"

"Yes, there was a survivor here before but my court mage sent them out to Bleakfall Barrow to help aid in his research."

With a hopeful twinkle in her eyes, she inquired, "ah. Well, I'm in need of some money before I do start looking for my brother and I was wondering if there were any jobs for Whiterun I could perform."

"I'm not sure." Sage felt herself deflate slightly, but the Jarl kept going, "talk to my advisor Proventus Avenicci if he has any bounties or join The Companions down at Jorrvaskr." Balgruuf motioned to the man standing by the side of him, who curtly nodded to Sage.

She brought her attention to the balding man, "so… is there anything that you need assistance with?"

"In fact we do." Proventus began looking through the pockets of his clothing, pulling out a letter, "there is a Bandit leader nearby needing to be taken care of." He handed the letter over to the imperial, "the rest of the details will be explained in the letter"

Sage flashed another smile, "thank you. Could you point me in the direction of the court wizard? I want to see if he has a particular spell tome I'm looking for."

"Down in that room. Good luck with the bounty." Proventus pointed her in the direction of the wizard, wishing the stranger luck.

"Thank you both. I'll be back soon." Sage made her farewells short and sweet. She swiftly made her way to the mage, the time taken for her to get the tomb she needed was quicker than she thought. The imperial carefully handled the book, as if it would rip with the gentlest of touch. Sage gingerly opened it to the first page, the words 'SPELL TOME: CONJURE FLAME ATRONACH' in bold, vivid letters. She smiled, very pleased with the small purchase, "_should be nice to have a companion with me while I fight – one that doesn't talk back too_." Sage remembered to pull out the letter the advisor had given her, briefly looking through the finer details.

_By order of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater,_

_To all able bodied men and women of Whiterun Hold. The bandits located in Valtheim Towers have been harassing, robbing and attacking citizens and visitors._

_A reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader._

_-Proventus Avenicci_

With her newly acquired book and spell in progress, Sage began her journey in search of bandits and any gold she may come across.

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><p><strong>Another chapter, done already o.o In my game, I'm not much of a mage but I often rely on conjuration spells. My pretty lil' Flame Atronach makes good dragon bait and it looks super awesome :) I decided to skip the Bleakfall Barrows bit, because it seems a bit dull now to me :T It'll be a nice change of pace to start off with another quest. I will get back to the main quest very shortly, just you wait!<strong>

**As usual, R&R!**


	5. Close Combat

**Hey folks. I haven't really been able to write this week because of a chronic illness I live with flared up and knocked me out for a bit there. I'm still recovering from it but I'm in a state where I can write again.**

**Solyeuse: Thanks a lot for the critique. I guess I still need to tweak my writing style a bit but I appreciate you pointing out things I could fix. I've gone over the previous chapter and fixed up all the slip-ups c: I can't believe I still accidentally wrote tomb instead of tome. xD It's miss, thanks**

**It's been forever since I've written any sort of action so I do apologize if it isn't very well written. Enjoy**

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><p>The trek to the Valtheim Towers was far quieter than Sage had expected. The imperial was thankful for the lack of activity though - it meant it would take a longer time for her small supply of iron arrows to deplete to nill. She had been travelling at a hurried pace, but when the sight of the two towers hanging high above the White River came into view, Sage slowed down and took to the side of the road. She crept closer to the entrance with ginger steps, a lack of self-confidence stopping her from immediate action. The ginger haired woman briefly surveyed the area to see how many she was dealing with. The imperial shook her head, "<em>No, enough with the calculating.<em>"

She shuffled closer to the entrance, locking her eye on an idling bandit standing by the tower. Sage grasped her bow, loading an arrow in with shaky hands. She lined the arrowhead up with the target, the tension on the string unfamiliar to her after so many years. With a prayer to the divines muttered underneath her breath, the arrow was sent flying.

Much to her surprise, she hit her target square in the shoulder. The bandit let out a roar of pain that put Sage on the edge of her nerves. Adrenalin took over as Sage sprung from her hiding spot, her bow swapped out for an iron mace and spell in the other. She focused her magicka into that one hand and without hesitation, she attempted to conjure a flame atronach for the first time. A bright blast stunned both of them for a moment as a portal materialized out of nowhere. With a fiery entrance, an exquisite creature floated out of the void, radiating in a strange but comforting heat Sage had never experienced before. The gate disappeared back where it came from, leaving the atronach immediately shooting balls of fire at the bandit. He howled once more, charging head first into Sage.

Sage quickly grabbed her second weapon – a sword – and only just dodging a mighty swing from the bandit by inches. She spun around the man and hacked at a weak spot in his armor. He caught her second attempt with his shield, and with a great heave he bashed the imperial backwards. Since the last ten seconds the bandit seemed to have forgotten about the atronach, but with a burst of fire making contact with his back he was shortly reminded of the other foe. The man staggered, an opportunity arising for Sage. With a tight grip and a loud cry, her weapons flew through the air and sliced through the body of the bandit one after the other. The sword inflicted clean cuts to his body, the head of her mace bloodying and mangling up the wound. He fell to his knees, his breathing ragged and heavy. With bewildered eyes he caught her gaze, pleading, "Mercy! Mercy!"

The wild look in the bandit's eye was enough to make her halt, his words making the imperial freeze up completely. For a few brief seconds the world was still, old morals grabbing a hold of Sage. Even if he was a bandit, an outlaw, Sage couldn't help the pang of pity she felt for him. She held the balance of his life with her weapons, and just as easy as it is for her to swing a sword, it was just as easy for her to end him. Never had she had to deal with such a conflict, and neither did she know how to deal with it.

The whistle of an arrow to the air, and before Sage could react an arrowhead lodged itself into her thigh. "_Shit,_" she hissed, pain and blood seeping from the wound. All the hesitation and second thoughts from a mere few seconds ago was erased, and Sage took one last swing at the bandit - the rest of it history.

With one of the who knew how many bandits down, Sage brought her attention to the one who inflicted the arrow into her leg. She bit her lip as she yanked the arrow out, not even bothering to clean up the wound. The flame atronach was already busy throwing fireballs at the archer with uncanny precision. Sage swapped her melee weapons for her bow once more, fumbling to load an arrow. With her bow ready to spring, she paced to the side and inched in closer to the archer. They were standing high on the bridge, and with a well executed arrow Sage could knock them down in one hit. Another arrow flew by her head, missing by inches. She cursed underneath her breath, letting the arrow loose from its reigns. With unbelievable luck, her plan went as smoothly as she hoped for. The marksman stumbled back and lost their footing on the bridge, tumbling to their death.

The imperial raced towards the tower where she would have safety from archers. Her bow retired for the second time as Sage opted for the more effective option of dual-wielding. She ran up the stairs, trying her luck against two bandits at once. A fireball hurdled too close to her and into the face of a bandit, the tips of her wild hair singed in the process. She ignored it, carving multiple large slices in the abdomen of the burning bandit. The second bandit caught her shoulder with their war axe, leaving a large hole in her leather armor. She grimaced, recoiling backwards. Even with her injuries, she was still able to dodge another swing from the axe. Sage went for the exposed flesh of their neck, only needing to leave one wound to efficiently kill them.

She hurried up the stairs, charging her way onto the bridge where she met another bandit. Before either of them could take a swing at each other, an orb of fire buried itself into the bandit. In their disabled position, Sage lifted a boot to their gut and pushed them off the dangerously high path. A smug grin found its way onto her face, "_I knew there was a reason I brought that spell." _Another archer past the second tower was making an attempt on Sage's life, an arrow just only cutting into her already mangled shoulder. The imperial scowled, leaving the atronach to deal with the archer as she sprinted to the shelter of the tower.

Two bandits were there waiting for her. One of the two was different to the other members of the gang in the fact he had an arguably better set of iron armor and a great sword that looked to be in an impeccable state. Sage figured the more dangerous looking one was the bandit chief she was assigned to kill, and promptly initiated a flurry of attacks. Sparks scattered in every direction when her blade feebly met his armor, her surprise met by his cocky grin. He jeered, "Do your worst imperial"

His taunting unaffected the woman, her determination still at its peak. She kicked him hard in the shin with enough force that he stumbled back into the other bandit. The second bandit growled, and with a mighty heave his blade whirled through the air. Sage sidestepped it, unable to completely avoid the blow. A shallow, clean cut etched itself into the side of her gut, Sage letting out an unladylike grunt. "_I really need some better armor, or at least a shield_." She mentally noted down, not at all impressed with the number of injuries she had already encountered.

An unnatural orb of fire flew past Sage once again, hitting the bandit chief square in the jaw. He let out a howl of agony as multiple balls of flames blasted him shortly after the first. The other man was taken back as he watched the man he called boss go up in a fiery blaze. Sage seized the moment of distress, bashing the bandit in the side of his head with her mace, effectively knocking him to the ground where she her sword sunk deep past his leather armor and into his heart. Sage placed a foot to the dead bandit's chest and firmly pushed him back, her sword sliding out of his body with blood hiding any reflection on its surface.

Sage turned to deal with the flaming man, who was a wriggling mess of fire on the cobble floor of the tower. She pitied him for having such a painful death, but left no space for second thoughts. "Divines be with you." The imperial muttered underneath her breath, quickly saving the man a longer, more painful death.

Now alone with her flame atronach and herself, Sage sheathed her weapons. The bitter echo of pain vibrated through her body, having dealt with such wounds. She grimaced, fumbling for the few health potions she was smart enough to buy for her journey. "_I should find the recipe for health potions,_" she thought, her pocket feeling less weighty than when she first than when she first left Cyrodiil. Sage tilted her head upwards, gulping down the red liquid with vigor. She stood there among the pile of bodies, her thoughts and feelings in an absolute mess. Sage decided it was best if she hauled the bodies to the middle of the bridge and tossed them off into the current below. "_Sounds like a nicer way to deal with corpse than leaving it to rot,_" she reassured herself as she got to work pushing the bodies off the high pathway.

With all the bandits becoming one with the river and flowing downstream, Sage took some time to sit down on the bridge with her feet dangling. The flame atronach crackled and hummed, floating ever so silently as it eyed the summoner. A crooked smile took to the Imperial's face, "I don't know what I would have done without you. I think you'll be of a good use to me for many years to come friend." There was something comforting about the beast. The heat that radiated from its scorching body was neither painful nor unsettling. In all its ethereal glory, it performed an elegant back flip as if it knew Sage was watching it.

A large zap reverberated through the air as a strange portal like earlier conjured itself out of the blue. With a bright blast of white, the atronach disappeared back to where it came from. Now truly alone, Sage did nothing but listen to the constant rumbling of the White River underneath her feet. The throb of pain throughout her body eased up, the health potions finally making an effect. Even with her poor footwork and equally as bad blade-work, Sage was feeling positive about everything

Until the roar of a dragon echoed in the cloudy sky.

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><p><strong>Well, time to go do homework and go to bed c: I may have to update weekly instead of how much I did before, now with my high school and health. Any writing is better than not writing at all I guess. R &amp; R!<strong>


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